The understanding of my destination influences everything.

Art

09/10/2011

Click the photo above to get to a really nice post about photographer Roberto Dutesco and his gallery exhibition The Last of the Wild Horses. Some haunting and beautiful black and white photography from one of the most inaccessible and remote places on earth.

03/29/2011

It's amazing to me how one photograph can provide so much emotional energy. The desaturated colors, the linear phone lines, the lone tree and the seemingly endless horizon all imply the long journey we all are on, searching the vastness of our lives for something more, something meaningful. Our goals, our dreams, our visions all culminating just over the horizon.

It's not the medium or the oil or the price or whether it hangs on a wall or you eat it. What matters, what makes it art, is that the person who made it overcame the resistance, ignored the voice of doubt and made something worth making. Something risky. Something human.

Art is not in the eye of the beholder. It's in the soul of the artist.

03/23/2011

The plant never lapses into mere arid functionalism; it fashions and shapes according to logic and suitability, and with its primeval force compels everything to attain the highest artistic form.—Karl Blossfeldt

At first glance, what did you see? The view of the back of a sultry woman? Two "twin" towers? Iron scroll work?

The photographs taken by Karl Blossfeldt are a fascinatign display of form, function and beauty in the most oraganic of items. Having the "eye" to see the beauty in such simple form is a great gift.

01/22/2011

“To take photographs is to hold one’s breath when all faculties converge in the face of fleeing reality. It is at that moment that mastering an image becomes a great physical and intellectual joy.

To take photographs means to recognize – simultaneously and within a fraction of a second – both the fact itself and the rigorous organization of visually perceived forms that give it meaning. It is putting one’s head, one’s eye, and one’s heart on the same axis

As far as I am concerned, taking photographs is a means to understanding which cannot be separated from other means of visual expression. It is a way of shouting, of freeing oneself, not of proving or asserting one’s originality. It is a way of life.”

When one finishes a book that really digs deep and grabs your heart, your inner self, it is hard to put into words the realization that finally – finally! – you’ve found something that speaks to what you too are feeling but cannot express in your own words. After finishing The Mind's Eye: Writings on Photography and Photographers , by Henri Cartier-Bresson, I had to put it down and ruminate on it, chew it up, re-read portions, think, think and think again about all the insights this great icon of photojournalism was able to put into words. What a great book! I still am going back to it to glean it’s pages for more!

The book is a journey into the life and thoughts of Bresson, probably one of the most celebrated photographers of the 20th Century. Written in three parts, Bresson delves into his thoughts on photography, art and life in Part 1: The Camera as Sketchbook, writes about his travels and travails in different countries such as Russia, China and Cuba in Part 2: Time and Place, and offers his thoughts on other famous photographers and friends such as Robert Doisneau, Robert Capa, Jean Renior and Andre Breton, among others in Part 3: On Photographers and Friends.

This little book – it’s only 107 pages – is a testament to photographic and artistic genius. It is packed with insights and vignettes of the life of an expert observer of the everyday and mundane, yet he sees the beauty and excitement in it all.

01/13/2011

Warning! If you have any attraction to street photography, prepare to be mesmerized by the work of Vivian Maier.

I love street photography. The work of Henri Cartier-Bresson is a prime example of the genius of photojournalism and street photography. Something about the life, action - the buzz - of street photography is just so mysterious, exciting and inspiring. Combine this buzz of activity with the mid-20th century modernism of Chicago and the story of a quiet nanny, and one of those rare occasions of photographic serendipity occurs. Who was Vivian Maier? What was her training? Where did she develop such an eye for capturing life?

These are some of the many questions still to be answered about Maier. Born in the late 1920s and working as a nanny up into the late 20th Century, Maier was a quiet lady, known by some of the children she kept as a double for Mary Poppins and by some adults as a strong willed woman, Maier carried a camera with her everywhere she went on her days off. Taking over 100,000 photographs by some estimates, her work was destined to remain in hiding until discovered by a Chicago real estate agent in an abandoned storage unit auction. What was discovered by John Maloof in that auction is creating a tremendous buzz in the museum and photograph community.

I've only just discovered these photographs, and I am mesmerized by them.

Included below is story from Chicago Tonight. It is well worth viewing, highlighting some of Maier's work, as well as providing some background information on Maier and Maloof.

Fascinating.

Special thanks to APhotoEditor.com for sharing these links. I recommend visiting their site to see more information on Maier.

The Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland is internationally renowned for its collection of art. The collection presents an overview of world art from pre-dynastic Egypt to 20th-century Europe, and counts among its many treasures Greek sculpture and Roman sarcophagi; medieval ivories and Old Master paintings; Art Deco jewelry and 19th-century European and American masterpieces.

The Walters truly is a great FREE experience. Did you note the "free" part? Yes, a preeminent collection of art free for the viewing. What a great deal! This truly is one of the perks of living close to the "big city". Currently at the Walters is a special exhibit Walter Wick: Games, Gizmos and Toys in the Attic. Walter Wick is the author of the I Spy and Do You See What I See books. It was great fun.

The Peabody is a hidden treasure in Baltimore. Part of The Johns Hopkins University, the Peabody, founded in 1857, is "the practical embodiment" of George Peabody's belief in "the power of the artist to open the minds and enrich the lives of others". We were given freedom to roam the institute between performances of the Youth Orchestra. We were "auditory voyeurs", walking the halls listening to the students practicing the instruments - from violins and cellos to brass - behind closed doors. It was a great, and surprisingly exciting, experience for the girls!

After our museum venture, we ended the evening having a memorable dinner at The Helmand Restaurant in the Mt. Vernon section of Baltimore. Appetizers of Kaddo Borawni (baked baby pumpkin) and roasted eggplant, entrees of lamb tenderloin and kabobs, all served with delicious Afghan bread and pallow rice, were a fantastic way to end the day! I don't know if I can recommend the Turkish coffee. I'm sure it was good, to Turkish coffee standards, but my palate was not liking it!

Get out and enjoy your city! There are treats and surprises waiting everywhere for your discovery. Branch out a little and try that ethnic restaurant you see from time to time. And take your kids! They will grow from the experience. It's worth it.

10/27/2010

"By taking pictures, memories are magnified, forgotten moments are materialized. Somehow we get more out of life with camera in hand." - Chris Orwig"Who we are effects what we see." - Chris Orwig

Chris Orwig is a professional photographer and teacher that I really enjoy. His photos are so engaging and mesmerizing. Recently, Chris spoke at the TEDxAmericanRiviera meeting on the Poetics of Pictures. Go take a look at the 5 minute film and let me know what you think.

09/22/2010

Other than the fact that the MacAskill family are passionate photographers catering to the passion of other photographers, there are many, many reasons. SmugMug is beautifully designed, and, one of the most important features for me, allows full image uploading unlike Flickr and other sites. Not only is it a platform for sharing, it is a platform for archiving. Now, in addition to my regular digital backup protocol (which, by the way, never is fool proof - right Mardi?), I have offsite digital archiving of my most important images.

The full post accompanying the video can be found at Don MacAskill's blog. I encourage you to check it out.

06/11/2010

I’ve said it before, as a Dad to two girls I’m scared to death to raise my daughters in today’s culture, especially when I think about what waits for them when they grow up.

I grew up in the 80s, which weren’t perfect of course but still tame by comparison to today’s entertainment scene. MTV had just come on the scene and featured lots of big hair and cheesy music videos. Artists like Michael Jackson or Madonna pushed the envelope and caught flack for their “edginess.”

Today is a different story though. It seems every time I pull up a news page one artist or another is making headlines for setting the bar lower still with some racy music video or concert publicity stunt.

Lady Gaga, no stranger to controversy, released her latest music video on Tuesday for her song ‘Alejandro.’ It features Gaga dressed in a latex nun’s habit, sucking on rosary beads and at the center of a gay orgy dressed in a crucifix-emblazoned robe with a cross over her crotch.

What a waste of talent! Now, I don't like Lady Gaga, but I cannot deny that she is a very talented artist. But is this the best our culture has to offer? Where are the cutting edge Christian artists? Certainly not on "family friendly radio". (hat tip to Adri over at The Contemplative Life for another great thought on this subject.)

Where are the artists that realize the Judeo-Christian worldview is not something to be railed against, but something to be celebrated and explored?

Until we take back our culture, latex nun habits, celebrated gay orgies and sex-centered "entertainment" will continue to be accepted as mainstream, high culture, entertainment. It's a very sad state.

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About Jonathan

My
name is Jonathan Hasson and I’m a man on a mission…a mission to
discover as much as I can of the blueprint that God has for me. So far,
the blueprint has held many surprises, some tears and many blessings. It’s
taken me to a place today where I sometimes refer to myself as an
engineer with a creative side hiding inside, dying to escape. That’s
probably an exaggeration...